This story first appeared during the Month Of Spooky 2018. It comes from Delia Powell who writes to us from Brooks, Wisconsin. When I receive emails or messages from folks I like to look at where these towns are on the map. When I went to research Brooks and had some trouble finding it and thought it was a fake. But, in the end, I did find it located in Central Wisconsin. There is hardly any information on the place and for good reason. Brooks is located at the intersection of County Road A & G in the New Chester Township close to the Upper Neenah Creek State Fishery Area. Needless to say, Brook is a small community of mostly full-time homes (think about that for a moment). It has a church with a bar & grill inside and a railroad on the Eastside. This area is mostly farms, woods, and wetlands. Now, here is Delia’s Story:
My Story begins when I was a little girl growing up in Madison, Wisconsin. My family lived in a very old house that was built in the early 1900s. This house has quite a history. It was at one time a brothel, a care facility for polio victims, and later a funeral home. My parents bought it in the early 1980s and as you might guess growing up there was interesting. To say the house was haunted is an understatement. We just got used to strange things going on. There were bumps in the night, apparitions going up and down the stairs, and of course the occasional scream. I could tell you a story from almost every day in my childhood, but there is one that stands as my favorite.
One of the owners of the house was a man by the name of Charles Barros. Not much is known about him other than he was a well-to-do businessman with a wife and seven children. He truly loved his family and took care of them the best he could. The story goes that one morning while going to work he stepped out onto the street. He was struck by a car and killed. His family was of course devastated and didn’t know what to do without him. They need not have worried because financially he left them in a very good position. They would live the rest of their lives in comfort. However, that was not enough for Charles; he wanted to do more. One of the ghosts that reside in the house is that of Charles Barros. It appears that even after death he continues to care for the house and its occupants. This is where my story begins.
One night my parents had gone out to a party and left us, kids, all home alone. My older sister Gwyneth was left in charge. It was getting late and she had sent us to our various bedrooms throughout the house when there was a crash in the downstairs living room. This was followed by angry voices telling someone to keep quiet. Our house was being robbed. All of us kids gathered up together and we were unsure what to do when we heard a scream come from downstairs. Then one of the men threw open the front door and ran out of the house. Soon to follow were the rest of his crew. One of the neighbors must have seen or heard something and had already called the police. The men ran right into the open arms of the gendarme. All of us kids sighed in relief and knew that we were safe.
The next morning father read us the newspaper. It carried the story of the men that had attempted to rob us. It said that the men had been terrified by an apparition of a man threatening them with a cane. It might interest you to know that on the main stairway landing is a picture painted of Charles Barros. In that picture, Charles is holding a very opulent walking cane. If you are interested and want to check you can find this story listed in the archives of The Daily Cardinal which is one of the newspapers in Madison.
Delia Powell – Brooks Wisconsin.
I decided to call this story The Brooks Robbery and yes I know it took place in Madison. Thank you Delia for the story and thank you to everyone in Brooks, Wisconsin.
This Week’s Podcast: On the show this week we have a listener-submitted story from Comet Magazine, July 1941. It is a strange tale about the consequences of playing with the fourth dimension. You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from Apple Podcasts, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Thursday at 10:00 pm and Sunday Night at 11:00 PM (EST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link
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